24 Sep 14. The National Armaments Consortium (NAC), a consortium of over 280 companies and academic institutions managed by SCRA, has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC). ARDEC is developing next generation proximity sensor (NGPS) technology and is seeking industry participation early in the development process in order to increase transition probability and decrease transition challenges such as ease of production, manufacturability and overall lifecycle costs. This CRADA will enable the transition of government-developed NGPS technologies to NAC members in a legal, low risk and transparent manner. The intent of the process is that industry review and nonproprietary input into the design, development and demonstration process will allow for a higher likelihood of industry adoption and weaponization, due to reduced technical risk of implementation. To-date, seven NAC member organizations have become party to the CRADA through SCRA. (Source: Yahoo!/BUSINESS WIRE)
23 Sep 14. Apache Sale to Iraq Thrown Into Doubt Because of Iraqi Inaction. A proposed $4.8bn sale to Iraq of the latest Apache AH-64E helicopter may have fallen through because Baghdad failed to sign an offer made by the US government for 24 of the aircraft. After the Pentagon sent a letter of notification to Congress in January, the US government made Baghdad a formal offer for the helicopters ‘along with spare parts and a comprehensive training program’ but the Iraqis ‘never accepted it (and did not ask for an extension on the offer) and it expired in August,’ US Army Security Assistance Command spokeswoman Kim Gillespie told Defense News in an email. A State Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that while Foreign Military Sales cases like this normally have a timeline after which they expire, nothing has yet been formally cancelled. The United States continues to work the deal with Baghdad along with more potential FMS cases that could be worth billions of dollars. If the pricing on the potential contract changes, however, the entire congressional notification process would have to start over. The potential $4.8bn deal also included radars, night vision equipment, 480 Hellfire missiles, electronic jamming equipment, 30mm automatic chain guns and assorted ammunition. Including the spare and repair parts, support equipment, and more than 200 contractors to provide personnel training, it would have been a major win for Apache maker Boeing and its subcontractors. Boeing referred all questions about the deal to the US Army. It was widely believed that Baghdad wanted the fast-moving Apache attack helicopters to battle the Islamic State (IS) group and affiliated Sunni groups who have taken vast swaths of northern and western Iraq away from Baghdad’s control. (Source: Defense News)
22 Sep 14. Taiwan Previews Major Naval Acquisition Plan. Taiwan’s Navy plans to build new destroyers, frigates, corvettes and submarines in a 20-year force modernization program that will replace all the US and French-built warships in the fleet. Details of the program will be released in November, but Navy officials provided some information about the scope of the massive build plan during the live-fire field training event during the annual Han Kuang exercises off the east coast of Taiwan on Sept. 17. None of the new ships and submarines will be built by the US. Instead, Taiwan will rely on the combined efforts of its Ocean Industries Research and Development Center for design, the Taiwanese military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) for systems and integration, and the Taiwan-based China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. for construction. The Navy hopes to finish the design and development stage in five to 10 years, depending on the budget and complexity of each vessel, a Navy official said. Taiwan will seek Western assistance